Biodiversity 

▪ The occurrence of different types of genes, gene pools, species, habitats and ecosystems in a particular place and various parts of earth is called biodiversity. 

▪ The term ‘biodiversity’ was given by Edward Wilson. 

▪ Biodiversity is divided into three levels :

i. Genetic diversity 

• It is the measure of variety in genetic information contained in the organisms. 

• It enables a population to adapt to its environment. 

• For example, medicinal plant Rauwolfia vomitoria growing in Himalayan ranges shows variation in potency and concentration of the active chemical reserpine that it produces.

• There are more than 50,000 genetically different strains of rice and 1,000 varieties of mango in India.

ii. Species diversity 

• It is a measure of the variety of species and their relative abundance present within a region. 

• For example, the Western Ghats have a greater amphibian species diversity than the Eastern Ghats. 

iii. Ecological diversity 

• It is a measure of the diversity at community and ecosystem levels. They represent the local, unique habitat and regional components of species diversity. 

• For example, ecological diversity is greater in India due to presence of large number of ecosystems like deserts, rainforests, coral reefs, wetlands, estuaries and alpine meadows.